At First Baptist, we are committed to talking about and actively working against racism. We see this not as a political endeavor, but as part of our call to follow Christ and help create God’s beloved and inclusive community here on earth as it is in heaven.
As part of this work, First Baptist hosted Robert P. Jones. Jones the best-selling author of White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity. Drawing on history, public opinion surveys, and personal experience, Jones delivers a provocative examination of the unholy relationship between American Christianity and white supremacy and issues an urgent call for white Christians to reckon with this legacy for the sake of themselves and the nation.
As part of this work, First Baptist is also participating in the Thriving for Racial Justice cohort through the Alliance of Baptists, a 5-year project with the aim of creating multiracial, anti-racist churches. Through the Alliance, our senior pastor, Carol McEntyre, participated in a dialogue with Robert P. Jones and other church leaders. You can watch their conversation below.
As part of this work, First Baptist has been involved in several church-wide book and video studies, including:
- White Privilege—Let’s Talk: Study resources developed and updated by the United Church of Christ
- America’s Original Sin: White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America by Jim Wallis
- Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby (book and DVD/YouTube series about the Church’s complicity in promoting racism)
- Healing the Racial Divide by Terrell Carter (interchurch book study in Columbia)
- Video of Richard Twiss (Rosebud Lakota/Sioux) at 2011 Christian Community Development Association conference: https://www.youtube.com
America’s Original Sin was the text for Critical Conversations, a multi-church study where First Baptist, Second Missionary Baptist Church, and Broadway Christian Church met together for 6 months. Following the book study, members to these congregations took a Civil Rights Pilgrimage to significant civil rights sites throughout the south, including the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN and the Montgomery Civil Rights Museum.
Other actions First Baptist has taken include:
- participating in Missouri Faith Voices, a multifaith justice group that addresses housing, immigrant rights, and justice/prison reform.
- developing a relationship with the Native American community in Bridger, SD, and taking few exploratory trips. The first trip was project-oriented and the second was a listening/learning opportunity.
- participating in the Thriving for Racial Justice cohort through the Alliance of Baptists, a 5-year project with the aim of creating multiracial, anti-racist churches.
First Baptist is committed to this work. So, whoever you are or whatever your background, we invite you to join us as we learn and then act together. If you are interested in getting involved, you can contact our Racial Justice Team through our church office at
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If you want to learn more about being anti-racist, click here for other resources our Racial Justice Team has read or watched and would suggest.